No new NHS patients have been prescribed full-extract cannabis oil since its legalisation more than 18 months ago, according to a Freedom of Information request. The only two children receiving the treatment on the NHS, Alfie Dingley and Sophia Gibson, obtained emergency licences before the law changed.
Hannah Deacon, mother of Alfie Dingley, described the situation as 'terribly cruel and incredibly unfair'. She has written to every cabinet member expressing 'abject despondency' but received only one reply, from Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who mistakenly addressed her as 'Bridget' and stated that cannabis use was detrimental to health.
Wealthier families can access the medicine privately at a cost of around £2,000 per month, while poorer parents cannot afford it. Experts blame rigid prescribing guidelines from the British Paediatric Neurological Association, which cite a lack of clinical research and disputed theories about mental health effects.
Prof David Nutt, former government drugs adviser, said there is 'mounting real-world evidence' of efficacy but doctors are 'afraid of cannabis after years of fear-mongering'. Since legalisation, at least 313 private prescriptions have been issued for unlicensed cannabis-based medicines.
Steve Rolles of the Transform Drug Policy Foundation warned that without a bespoke regulatory framework, unregulated self-medication with illegal supplies will continue. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said they sympathise with patients and noted that two cannabis-based medicines are now available on the NHS for specific conditions.
